Who Has Affordable Car Insurance Rates for Teenagers in San Francisco?

The words “bargain” and “insurance” probably shouldn’t be used in the same sentence, specifically when you are trying to find the best price on coverage for teenagers. To help control this cost, let’s get started by showing you a few of the factors that impact insurance prices, and figure out some ideas to slash the price of your next policy.

For teen drivers, one of the more important factors that are used to help calculate the amount you pay each year for auto insurance is where you keep your car in San Francisco. Regions with larger populations or more claims will most likely have higher rates, whereas areas with lower crime rates and fewer weather claims benefit from lower coverage costs.

The next table rates the most expensive places in California for teenagers to buy auto insurance in. San Francisco ranks #3 with a yearly premium of $1,745 for the average policyholder, which is about $145 each month.

Rate quotes are estimated as the specific area where the vehicle is garaged can change premiums noticeably.

Finding decent, low-priced auto insurance is confusing at best, and deciding which companies offer the most affordable insurance rates for teenagers requires more quotes for comparison. Every insurance provider has a proprietary formula to set their prices, so let’s take a look at the insurance companies with the overall best prices in San Francisco.

It’s a good idea to be aware that California insurance rates are impacted by many factors that will increase or decrease the cost of coverage. Events like turning one year older, buying a home, or getting a DUI may cause policy rate changes resulting in some companies being much higher than others.

Cheap Insurance Rates for Teens

Get a Free Quote and Save

USAA may offer some of the most affordable car insurance rates in San Francisco at around $1,155 a year. This is $496 less than the average policy premium paid by California drivers of $1,651. Wawanesa, Century National, CSAA, and Nationwide would also make the list of some of the lowest-priced San Francisco, CA insurance companies.

In the above rates, if you buy coverage from Wawanesa and switched to USAA, you might realize savings of roughly $2. Insureds with Century National could save as much as $23 a year, and CSAA policyholders might reduce prices by as much as $43 a year.

To find out how much you can save, click here to start your custom quote or click several companies below for low rates.

Remember that these premiums are averaged for all types of drivers and the different vehicles they drive and do not take into consideration an exact zip code location for teenagers. So the car insurance company that fits you best may not even be in the list above. That illustrates why you need to quote rates from many companies using your own driver data and vehicle information.

The type of vehicle you are insuring is probably the biggest factor when consumers are trying to find the best auto insurance for teenagers. Vehicles with high performance engines, poor safety ratings, or high incidents of liability claims will cost significantly more to insure than more modest models.

The table below shows coverage costs for a number of the cheaper vehicles to buy insurance for.

Table data represents single male driver age 17, no speeding tickets, no at-fault accidents, $1,000 deductibles, and California minimum liability limits. Discounts applied include safe-driver, and claim-free. Premium costs do not factor in specific location which can modify coverage rates substantially.

Based on these rates, we can assume that models like the Ford Escape, Honda CR-V, Toyota Prius, Ford Explorer, and Ford Edge will be the most budget-friendly vehicles to insure for teen drivers. Auto insurance rates will tend to be more expensive because of the fact that there is a higher risk for teenagers, but overall those particular vehicles will tend to have the cheapest car insurance rates compared to all other vehicles.

Full coverage rates compared to liability-only

Saving on insurance should be important to the majority of vehicle owners, and one good way to lower the cost of insurance for teenagers is to only buy liability coverage. The chart below shows the difference between auto insurance costs when comparing full coverage to liability only. The premiums assume no accidents, no driving violations, $100 deductibles, drivers are single, and no additional discounts are factored in.

If the expense is averaged for all age categories, full coverage costs $2,525 per year over having just liability coverage. That raises the question if full coverage is worth the money. There is no specific rule of when to exclude physical damage coverage, but there is a general guideline. If the annual cost of coverage is more than around 10% of any settlement you would receive from your insurance company, the it may be a good time to stop paying for full coverage.

For example, let’s pretend your vehicle’s settlement value is $5,500 and you have $1,000 full coverage deductibles. If your vehicle is totaled, you would only receive $4,500 after the policy deductible has been paid. If you are currently paying more than $450 a year to have full coverage, then it’s probably a good time to buy liability coverage only.

How to get discounts on San Francisco auto insurance rates

Insurance companies that sell policies for teenagers could also offer special discounts that can reduce rates by as much as 25% or more if you qualify for them. Large insurance companies and a selection of discounts can be read below.

• Esurance discounts include emergency road assistance, defensive driver, anti-theft, good driver, multi-policy, claim free, and online quote.
• The Hartford includes discounts for bundle, air bag, defensive driver, good student, vehicle fuel type, and anti-theft.
• AAA has discounts for multi-car, anti-theft, good student, good driver, education and occupation, pay-in-full, and AAA membership discount.
• GEICO offers discounts including good student, multi-policy, defensive driver, anti-lock brakes, and five-year accident-free.
• State Farm may offer discounts for accident-free, defensive driving training, driver’s education, good driver, and multiple policy.

The illustration below illustrates the difference between auto insurance costs with and without discounts. The information is based on a female driver, no tickets, no at-fault accidents, California state minimum liability limits, full coverage, and $500 deductibles. The first bar for each age group shows the average annual price with no discounts. The second shows the rates with anti-theft, vehicle safety, good student, passive restraint, continuous coverage, and paid-in-full discounts applied. When these discounts are applied to the policy premium, the average savings per year on insurance for teenagers is 28% or $694.

Insuring your vehicle with a good quality insurer can be a challenge considering how many companies are available to choose from in San Francisco. The ranking information shown below could help you analyze which auto insurance companies to look at purchasing from. The ratings below only include companies that insure vehicles across America, so companies with more of a regional focus are not taken into consideration for these rankings.

How to find more affordable insurance for teenagers

The list below summarizes some of the better money-saving solutions that can help California drivers quote more affordable car insurance.

• Serious violations like DUI or careless driving can make car insurance unaffordable
• Having too many claims will increase rates substantially
• Staying accident-free helps keep rates low
• Get cheaper liability coverage by choosing a safer vehicle
• Pay lower rates with good credit
• Shop around for cheaper rates regularly

The final tip is especially crucial, as we pointed out in the prior article. Car insurance rates vary greatly, so drivers shouldn’t be resistant to change to a new company if you find a better deal.

Having a favorite company is great, but it isn’t a good idea if that loyalty ends up costing potentially thousands of dollars a year. Spend a few minutes and compare prices and find cheaper insurance for teenagers in San Francisco.

The San Francisco, CA, insurance agents below can probably aid you in deciding which policy is best, as lots of people like to get some help when trying to find the best insurance rates for teenagers. It can be hard to do it yourself, and insurance agents can give peace of mind knowing your coverage gives you sufficient protection if you have a claim.

To locate a San Francisco insurance agent close to you, click the link after the list.

View more San Francisco, CA insurance agencies